Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
This study explores the enhancement of thermoelectric performance in ZnO nanostructures synthesized via a cost-effective sol-gel technique by incorporating transition metal dopants. The primary objective was to investigate the individual and combined effects of manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) dopin...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-09-01
|
| Series: | Results in Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021085 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | This study explores the enhancement of thermoelectric performance in ZnO nanostructures synthesized via a cost-effective sol-gel technique by incorporating transition metal dopants. The primary objective was to investigate the individual and combined effects of manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) doping on the structural and thermoelectric properties of ZnO. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all doped and co-doped samples retained the hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure, indicating successful doping without forming secondary phases. Co-doping with Cr and Mn significantly influenced both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. The Zn0.98Cr0.01Mn0.01O sample exhibited the highest Seebeck coefficient of 253.7 µV/K and an enhanced electrical conductivity of 7.4 S/cm. These improvements are attributed to the introduction of mid-gap states through substitutional doping, which increases carrier concentration and spin polarization. As a result, the co-doped ZnO sample achieved the highest thermoelectric power factor of approximately 6.67 × 10–5 Wcm-1K-2. These findings demonstrate that Cr/Mn co-doping is an effective strategy to improve the thermoelectric performance of ZnO nanostructures, paving the way for their potential application in energy conversion devices. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2590-1230 |